Monsters
by Whisperwing
Summary: No one could really say which was better - death by fighting in the Coliseum, or death by the purging that was the fate of unidentified children. Luffy was not interested in either of these options - he was certain he'd survive and live a free life to its fullest, no matter how many people doubted him. And he might just manage to save a few people from their fates along the way. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: One Piece does not belong to me.**

* * *

Rouge knew she should have taken the child and ran. Hid him in a place where no one could find him, raised him in secret, taught him how to survive in such a cruel world as this one. She should have put up the hood of her coat to shield her face and just grabbed him, before any of the other bystanders could alert the authorities.

He bobbled around in happy oblivion, tottering on short legs to gawk at the things around him: a shiny coin on the ground, a flower on the corner of a street vendor's desk, the faces of the people staring at him. When his gaze passed over Rouge, she couldn't help but take in a quick breath at his large, wide eyes and the way that his mouth curled into an impossibly big grin, stretching the little scar beneath his left eye.

He was happy. He was adorable.

Every single person knew he didn't belong, except for himself.

Rouge didn't know what kept her standing still instead of pushing through the crowd and whisking the kid away, because she _knew_ what was coming. She'd seen it, they'd _all_ seen it, too many times. Such a simple occurrence, so small and brief, many people thought nothing of it. But deep in their hearts, everyone knew what it was.

A death sentence.

And just as she was making up her mind, steeling her resolve, Rouge found herself being shoved out of the way, a loud voice shouting in her ear "Make way, make way!" and she knew she was too late. She would regret those seconds of hesitation for many years to come.

The authorities emerged from the masses, encircling the little boy that still unknowingly stumbled around the pavement. His smile faltered a little when he realized he was suddenly surrounded, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he stared up at the stern faces that glared down at him.

One of the authorities stepped forward, clearing his throat and speaking as though the child actually understood what he was saying. "By the order of His Majesty, under Act 21, all unidentified children are to be taken into custody and tested." His speech was perfect in the way of someone that had given it many times. He nodded to another authority, who moved towards the boy, scooping him into his arms. The child squirmed and cried out, but his captor held tight.

There were more yells of "Make way!" as the authorities paraded away, child in hand. The bystanders watched them leave, then quickly returned to their business, although the mood was a bit more somber than before.

Rouge remained in the middle of the street, her head bowed, her heart brimming with guilt.

She just couldn't protect anyone, could she?

* * *

It was only a day later that Rouge was called to the grand castle that stood above the kingdom, housing only the greatest of the greats. From the large double doored entrance, she was led to a room that she had been in far too many times: the throne room. The King himself sat on his overlarge behind on his even more overlarge throne, surveying her as she stepped in with pig-like eyes. He snorted a drip of snot back up his nose, his mouth twisting into a greasy smile. Rouge resisted the urge to grimace in disgust, setting her mouth in a thin, polite line and kneeling respectfully.

"You may rise," he said in a nasally voice that had never quite escaped puberty. When she looked up, he smirked superiorly, and once again she had to suppress a shudder.

She knew that the only reason that she was still alive was because this man, their King, found her quite beautiful. So beautiful that it was not an uncommon occurrence for her to step out of her front door to find a bouquet of flowers sitting on her doorstep. He no doubt wished to charm her into marrying him at some point, despite all of her alleged crimes. As she rose back to her feet, she couldn't help but think – not for the first time - how she'd kill herself long before submitting to marriage with him.

His advisor stepped forward from where he had stood next to the King. The man, known as Sir Crocodile, was hardly as ugly or dumb as his employer – his eyes glinted with intelligence, his shoulder length hair combed back, and his body was decorated with a majestic animal skin coat that hung off his broad shoulders. On one hand, rings embedded with glittering jewels encircled his fingers, while the other hand was completely missing, replaced by a large, golden hook. Despite his better looks, though, Rouge didn't like him any more than the King.

"Portgas D. Rouge," he began formally, nodding at her. "I hope you've been doing well."

She inclined her head a bit. "Thank you, Sir Crocodile. I have been quite fine."

He smiled. "Good." He raised his hand in some sort of signal, and two of the guards that were stationed in the room disappeared out the door. "I'm sure you're wondering why you were summoned here."

"I am rather curious," she agreed carefully. She wondered if she _wanted_ to know why she was brought here.

"Well, the King was just considering how bored you must be, after the unfortunate circumstances of your son's birth. You haven't been seeing any of the Coliseum matches or participating in any of the local activities. What a dull six years it must have been for you." He gave her a sympathetic look, and Rouge could only think scornfully of how the King wouldn't speak for himself.

"And then yesterday, such a wonderful opportunity came up. You've been so lonely for the past years, so…"

As if on cue, the doors to the room swung inward, revealing the guards that had left previously. In the arms of one of the burly men was a small boy, who looked to be fast asleep. No, not just any boy – it was _the_ boy, the child from the day before. His ebony bangs brushed the lids of his closed eyes, and small snores issued from his open mouth.

"We encountered this unidentified child on the streets, and the King graciously thought that perhaps you would like to care for him," Crocodile explained. The King grinned at her from his throne, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

She almost wanted to refuse. The King probably thought he was earning her favor, giving her a little doll to entertain her for a few years. He wanted her to kiss the ground at his feet in gratitude for his gift. Rage welled inside her, for the way he used this poor child to bribe her into liking him.

But saying no to his request would no doubt be an insult the King wouldn't tolerate, and as much as she didn't fear execution, she still had things she wished to accomplish in her time among the living.

And then the guard carrying the boy set him down. The movement woke the child, and he blinked his dark eyes groggily, swaying blearily as he was released on the floor to stand on his own.

He was adorable.

Rouge fell for him instantly.

Crocodile noted the softening in her face with satisfaction. He sighed theatrically, shrugging his shoulders and making his coat shift around him with a furry ruffling sound. "Unfortunately, though, he is still an unidentified child, and scanned negatively. Which means that under the law, unless he gains the required status by the age of fourteen, he will have to be purged." He gave her a sympathetic look.

She stiffened. She knew – _everyone_ knew – that in this kingdom, purging was just a rather harsh euphemism for execution. This boy couldn't be older than four, and he was slated for death.

"Please understand. It wouldn't be fair for us to make an exception for just for him, so unless he can contribute to society enough to achieve the required status, I'm afraid we must purge him," Crocodile explained, his eyebrows drawn together in sorrow, as though she didn't already know that.

Her gut was telling her that she shouldn't take the child. She should just leave him to his fate. If he was born to die, then she wanted nothing to do with it. It would only cause her pain. And maybe if she cried and confessed that she just couldn't stand losing another child, the King would take pity on her and not end up killing her.

But another glance at the boy's still sleepy face, staring confusedly across the room at her, his lips formed a tired, dopey smile, sealed her heart. There was no way she'd leave him to just any foster parent that the King's men would dump him on.

"I'll take care of him," she promised.

Crocodile smiled at her. "Very good!" He turned King, who had remained silent through the whole conversation. "Your ideas are always so wonderful, your highness."

The King smirked smugly. Rouge highly doubted that this had been his idea at all. "I told you this would please her," he said in his disgusting voice.

Rouge ignored their exchange, instead walking to kneel in front of the child. He did not move when she approached, and looked up at her face with a curious expression as it neared his. She touched the soft skin of his cheek, caressing it in an already motherly way, and he flinched, but more from surprise than fear. "What's your name?" she murmured to him, giving him a comforting smile.

He just blinked at her, uncomprehending.

"There are a few papers that you will have to sign," Crocodile said from behind her, "but we can send you those later."

She nodded absently, her eyes still fixed on the boy.

"I suggest you visit the castle doctor," he continued. "She looked the child over when he arrived, and can inform you of any conditions you should be aware of."

Rouge didn't really have any interest in seeing some high and mighty palace doctor, but despite what Crocodile had said, the "suggestion" was no doubt more of a command. She looked back at him and nodded. "Thank you."

"The guards can escort you to her office," he said, motioning to the aforementioned people.

"Have a wonderful day, Rouge," the King told her graciously, then snorted another drip of snot up his large nose.

Rather than gagging at the way his lips formed her name, Rouge managed to keep a straight face as she rose to her feet and bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Your Highness. You are truly magnificent." Magnificent wasn't really in context, she realized, but the King was really too dumb to tell.

Beside her, the boy stared at her position, then copied the bow, wobbling comically.

"You're dismissed," the King announced, satisfied with the compliment.

Rouge straightened, then stooped to take the child's small hand. He cocked his head to the side, but allowed himself to be towed along as she followed the guards from the throne room.

* * *

The doctor observed Rouge and the boy sitting in chair against her wall with what looked like boredom in her dark eyes. Her tall face and triangular nose made her look rather witch-like, and really overall, her appearance was not what Rouge would have expected of a professional doctor working at the castle. Her long, wavy white hair was pulled away from her face by two pairs of color sunglasses, one on top of the other, and she wore a crop top that rebelliously displayed her belly button piercing. Over the shirt she wore a purple biker's jacket, and below her exposed stomach, matching purple jeans.

After a few more seconds of staring them down, she turned to the papers on her desk. "I don't know his exact age," she said, in a voice that had not lost any of its strength, despite the fact that she was obviously several decades older than Rouge, "but he seems to be about three years old, and that's what I'm putting down. Don't know his birthday either, so you'll get to choose unless he speaks up about it. That's be in the paperwork they're going to be sending you." She grabbed a bottle of what looked like something alcoholic off her desk, tossing her head back and taking a deep swig. Rouge was seriously starting to doubt her professionalism.

"He's in pretty good shape," the doctor continued, wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her jacket and setting the bottle down with a clunk, fixing the boy with a stern stare. "Hasn't eaten for a while, but I'd only say a day and a half at most. He's on the small side – maybe a premature birth, but he isn't demonstrating any serious side effects."

"Well, that's good, Doctor…" Rouge shifted her gaze to the medical certificates on the wall. "…Kureha?"

Docter Kureha waved a hand. "Just call me Kureha, the full title is a mouthful."

"Kureha," Rouge confirmed. "But what's this?" She gestured to the long white bandage wound around the small boy's left forearm, which she had noticed on the way there.

"Oh, that." Kureha shrugged indifferently. "Just don't let him mess with it too much. Change the bandages every night until it heals up properly."

"Yes, but what _is_ it?"

"Well, he's a Noid, isn't he?" Kureha rolled her eyes, as though it was obvious.

Rouge's expression turned bemused. "A Noid?"

"Not caught up on the local slang, I suppose." Kureha shook her head, taking another quick gulp from her drink. "Under that bandage is his brand."

"His…" Rouge's face turned black with horror, then twisted with rage. "You _branded_ him?!"

The doctor sneered at her. "Hold your horses, girly. I didn't do anything but wrap it up afterwards. The brat was already asleep by that time."

That wasn't enough to placate Rouge. "If you knew it was coming, you should have done something! Not just let them burn a mark into the skin of a _child_ …" She petered off, stunned by the atrocities her government could commit.

Kureha's gaze suddenly turned cold, and Rouge unconsciously shifted back into the seat she didn't realize she abandoned, retreating from the glare. The boy beside her also seemed disturbed by the sudden hostility between the two women, glancing back and forth between them.

"I might work in the castle, but that doesn't mean I'm a fan of the way things work around here." The doctor dumped the rest of her drink into her mouth, swallowing noisily, and chucked the bottle across the room. The glass shattered against the wall, every shard falling into a garbage can below with perfect precision. Rouge and the child flinched at the sound. "I'm obviously not a very conventional doctor," she pointed out. "But I'm the best out there; that's why they keep me up here. I'm also rather well known for not bending very well to superiority." She wrinkled her nose. "So they have to make sure I know exactly what happens when I do what I'm not supposed to."

The doctor had turned her glare to the floor, one of her hands strangling a pen from her desk as though she wished her grip was around someone's neck. "I originally didn't think I'd let something like this go by. They couldn't afford to kill me off, and I didn't have any close family or friends, so what did I have to lose?" She laughed bitterly. "Oh, they had their ways. They'll put up with my unorthodox methods-" she grabbed another bottle, one of many that Rouge noticed lined up at the edge of her desk "-but they're not going to let me get away with anything else." The crooked smile on her face grew. "Oh, I'm sure they can't wait to find someone as good as me. So I can finally die…"

Kureha pointed a finger at the boy's arm. "Anyway, that's not a _real_ brand. They only want to let people know he's marked for death, not spark some kind of rebellion. It's a tattoo. Quite painful, I suppose, and especially for the unprepared, but it's like a brush from a soft blanket compared to having the design burned into your skin."

Rouge pressed her lips together. She still didn't like it, but a tattoo wasn't as bad as a real brand, and Kureha had spoken passionately and honestly. There was nothing she could have done, not without terrible consequences. She made to stand up. "Is that it?"

"You'll have to bring him back to me in about a month." Kureha chuckled at the confused look on Rouge's face. "Well, I suppose you don't _have_ to. But just because the brat is looking okay right now doesn't mean he's not going to develop anything later."

"I suppose," Rouge admitted reluctantly. It wasn't like she was looking forward to another visit, but Kureha had a point. She took the child's hand and guided him to slide off the chair onto the floor.

"Also, I'm not sure if he can understand you." Rouge blinked at Kureha, who shrugged and explained. "He hasn't shown any signs of being able to comprehend speech. Unusual at this age, but then, we don't know what his upbringing was like. That just means you'll have to teach him to talk. Or…" She twirled a hand in the air. "Maybe he already can and has just refrained from displaying his ability."

Rouge pursed her lips and nodded. "Thanks for the heads up. And for all your help," she added.

"Just doing my job. Now, get out of here." Kureha shooed Rouge and her new child from the room while casually opening another bottle of alcohol.

* * *

Rouge wasn't quite sure what to do with the boy when she arrived at home. She still had toys and things from her pregnancy a few years ago, stored away somewhere - she could give those to him to entertain himself, although they were intended for younger children than himself, so she wasn't sure how much fun they'd be for him. She would let him sleep in her bed with her until she could get him a bed of his own. Money wouldn't be a problem – the King didn't want the woman he was besotted with to live in poverty, despite her unemployment.

What she was bothered by, as she stepped through the front door of her small, cozy cottage, was "the boy" trailing behind her. Or, "the child". Those titles were the only two things she could call him in her mind. She had been pondering the dilemma all the way back from the castle. The boy most likely had some sort of name he responded to at this point in his life, and she'd hate to rename him. That just didn't seem _right_ to her. But if he couldn't understand what she was saying, there was no way of knowing.

She led him into her kitchen, then knelt in front of him, as she had done back at the castle. He gave her a big smile, like the one he had sported when she had first seen him wandering the streets. She doubted he knew exactly what was going on, but he seemed to like whatever facts he could comprehend. She returned the expression reassuringly, and enunciating clearly, said again, "What's your name?"

He blinked at her, then let out a giggle and poked her nose. Heart sinking, Rouge saw that she probably wasn't going to be able to get a name out of him after all. But she didn't let her disappointment show, fondly ruffling his hair and getting to her feet. When she turned her back to him, her thoughts turning to what she could heat up for dinner, she froze in surprise as a small voice came from the ground behind her.

"Nam?"

She looked back at the boy, who stared up at her with a curious expression. "Nam?" he repeated.

Rouge's eyes widened, and she fell to her knees again. "Yes. Name. Your name."

"Nam." The boy blinked once, then beamed at her. "Luffy!"

"Luffy?" It wasn't a particularly common name, but it suited him well. Rouge returned his grin, relieved. "Well, Luffy, how about I make some food for us?"

Luffy's eyes sparkled at the word, and he let out a bubble of laughter. "Fooood!"

* * *

The tall flames licked at the air, the smoke that rose off of them giving the night sky a grayish tint. The bright orange reflected in the man's eyes as he watched the fire devour the smoldering remains of a house, roof already caved, walls crumbling inwards. His face was stoic as he slowly turned away, looking at his men behind him.

The subordinates were huddled close together. Most were staring at the man in front of the fire with apprehension, some of the more emotional ones with tears running down their faces. The light of the fire cast long, flickering shadows behind them and turning the dirt around them a shade of red.

The man turned to them, and at least half of them flinched. One managed to squeak out, "Boss…?" But he was ignored, and the man walked past them with a jerk of his head, not showing any emotion.

"Let's go," he grunted. "There's nothing for us here."

* * *

"Get in there," the guard snarled, shoving the fourteen year old past the door. She gave a squeak of fear, trying to retreat, but he had already shut the door behind her, plunging the room into darkness. The girl banged her fists against the thick steel between her and freedom, crying out for help, but nothing came from the other side.

Eventually, her voice went hoarse and her hands purpled with bruises. As the fight drained out of her, she slid against the door, curling on the floor and shivering, not bothering to hold back her tears. The pitch black around her seemed to press in on her, and she covered her ears with her hands to block out the constricting silence.

After a few minutes, her shuddering sobs died down, and she pushed herself onto her feet. Her legs trembled beneath her, threatening to send her sprawling back onto the cold ground, but she set her jaw and hastily scrubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, remaining upright resolutely. As soon as she'd regained enough control over her limbs, she stumbled her way farther into the room, arms outstretched to keep her from running into anything in the darkness.

She was just starting to comprehend how _huge_ the room was when a sound from behind her made her freeze. It was a scraping noise, like something being drawn across the floor, or maybe multiple things, punctuated by the occasional little click. The girl turned around, her eyes wide and searching.

When she fully faced the direction of the sound, it stopped, only to be replaced by a growling sigh. A puff of warm air blew over the girl's terrified face, ruffling her bangs. And then lights appeared in the darkness. Two little orange lights, each with a black slit down the middle.

 _Monster eyes._

The girl screamed.

* * *

 **Alright! This could be interesting.**

 **I've been working on this thing for a while, and I have a couple chapters written, so maybe I'll be able to get somewhere with this story! Although I'm not going to sit here and be _too_ optimistic, because who knows what could happen, hm?**

 **This chapter is just kinda laying down some background and stuff. It probably doesn't make much sense at this point - or maybe it does, I don't know - but I hope it was at least a little enjoyable, if not enough to make you want to follow it? :3**

 **I don't plan on including any non-canon pairings in here, although there will be plenty of familial and friendship love.**

 **Feel free to review or PM me about anything at all! I'd love to hear criticism to make my writing better, conjectures to let me know what you're thinking about, and compliments to make me giggle and blush and feel all flattered and embarrassed. Or, I mean, you could just tell me about how your day has gone, how much you love One Piece, etcetera!**

 **Until next time!**

 **~Whisperwing~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: One Piece does not belong to me.**

* * *

 _10 years later…_

* * *

Luffy was bored. Like, insanely bored. Bored nearly to death. In fact, he could almost see the darkness closing in around his eyes, the tiny pinprick of light at the end of the dark tunnel, and a little annoying voice in the back of his disinterested mind insisting, " _Don't go towards the light, Luffy… Don't go towards the light…_ "

"Luffy."

He started, his head lifting off the table, the jerk of surprise almost making him slide off his seat. "Wha… I mean, I'm awake! I'm awake!"

Robin fixed him with a reprimanding gaze, her icy blue eyes stern. "You won't learn anything if you sleep through all of my lessons, Luffy-san."

The twelve year old rubbed at his obsidian eyes with the palms of his hands, his mouth twisting into a petulant pout. "But this is so boring, Robin!" he whined. "Why do I need to know this kind of stuff, anyways?"

Her lips twitched upwards. This was a commonly asked question, which Luffy really knew the answer to, but she answered it with just as much patience as always. "If you learn these skills, then you can do whatever you want in your later life."

"Booo," he protested childishly and casting a disappointed glare at the woman seated across the table from him. Robin was a tall woman, with smooth, pale skin and straight, shoulder length black hair, bangs cut flat just above her naturally arched eyebrows. The revealingly low cut shirts and tight pants that she commonly wore showed off a strong, curvy body, although Luffy, despite being a boy in the early stages of puberty, took no notice.

Robin had been hired by Rouge to tutor Luffy in academics. It had quickly become apparent to her that Luffy had no interest in learning facts and formulas. He did, however, enjoy Robin's many stories of lost civilizations and heroes of old, his eyes sparkling as his mind conjured images of shining swords, mysterious rocks, and glaring monsters. So throughout their years of working together, Robin found herself doing much more storytelling than teaching.

However, in the latest months, both Robin and Rouge had begun to feel the time pressing in on them. Robin had begun to teach Luffy in earnest, knowing that she did not have much longer to work with him like this.

Luffy was not particularly pleased by the new direction of his lessons. If he thought about it, he could understand Robin's reasoning. But then, Luffy was not well known for "thinking about it". And although he loved and respected Robin very much, he was _bored._

Robin let out a little chuckle at Luffy's sulking expression. "It is only a week until your thirteenth birthday, Luffy-san. We have to get as much done as we can before then, yes?"

He flopped in his chair, letting his arms swing limply at his sides and his head loll back. "But that's seven _days_ ," he complained, drawing each word out into high pitched moans of impatience. "I want to stop right _now_. None of this is going to matter by next week anyways, right?"

The blue eyed woman's face darkened a fraction. "Luffy. You have to be prepared for your life beyond the next year. I doubt you want to learn all of this later, do you?"

"But I don't want to learn it _now…_ "

"Now's the time to learn," she insisted, her voice firm. "I have an hour left with you, and we will make the most of it."

Luffy groaned, but there was really no arguing with Robin.

* * *

Luffy loved Robin very much. She was, without a doubt, one of his three favorite people in the world. But although her stories were awesome, her lessons were no fun at all. Which was why his favorite part of the day was usually not the time he spent with her, but the time after she had left.

He bounced a little in his seat as she gathered her things to leave, feeling the suppressed energy bubbling inside of him. She was bidding him a polite goodbye when a knock sounded at the front door of the house.

A few seconds later a man appeared in the hall, presumably let in by Rouge. He was ridiculously tall, so that the top of his huge black afro brushed the ceiling. His pale skin, stretched over a lanky body, was covered by a stiff black suit and matching pants. His long face was adorned with a large smile and sunglasses which effectively shaded his eyes from view. His skeletal fingers held the handle of a violin case, and in his other hand, a simple, curved cane.

Robin smiled at him as he entered the room. "Ah, Brook-san."

Brook turned his face to her, looking slightly surprise. "Robin-san! I didn't expect to see you still here. Am I early?"

"No, I ran a bit late," she explained smoothly. "I'm just leaving. Have a nice day, Brook-san."

"Good day to you as well!" he called as her back disappeared down the hall. He paused, looking thoughtful. "Ah! Robin-san! May I see your-"

The front door shut with a decisive slam.

Luffy laughed, clapping his hands at his tutors' antics. "Neh, Brook!" he said excitedly, ejecting himself from his chair to stand in front of the tall man. "Can we spar today? Please please _please_?"

"Yohohohohoho," Brook chuckled his signature laugh. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, Luffy-san." He set his violin case down, beginning to unlatch it. "But first, let's go out back and warm up, shall we?"

The boy groaned, but quickly dashed to the back door and out into the large, fenced off yard behind the house. Brook followed more slowly, violin in hand, laughing quietly the boy's enthusiasm.

Warm-ups consisted of a series of stretches and exercises, all done in sequence to a tune played on Brook's violin. This segment of Brook's time with Luffy displayed one of Luffy's main downfalls: he was far too impatient to keep with the rhythm of the music. He was constantly forgetting some of the smaller exercises, despite having been doing them since he was five years old. Brook often found himself stopping his music to remind the boy what he should be doing.

After finally getting through the warm ups, which took far longer than it should have due to all of the stopping and redoing, Brook stood, stowing his treasured violin back in its case and retrieving his cane. He ran his fingers up and down it, then twirled it around a few times before lightly grabbing a hold of the curve at the top, his other hand firmly grasping the long, straight length. Slowly, dramatically, he pulled his hands away from each other, and cane pulled apart too, revealing a previously almost invisible crack a little ways below the curve. As the crack widen, a silvery glint appeared under it: the well sharpened blade of a sword.

Luffy's face split into his signature grin, and he crouched, readying himself for attack. This was the part of the day that he looked forward to. The thrill of the coming fight was enough to send shivers of excitement down his spine. A break in the everyday monotony.

To Brook, fighting was a dance. This might have to do with his style and his weapon; his chosen sword allowed for sweeping, deadly grace, quick, intricate steps, the musical clash of metal. Every motion was smooth and complete, flowing into the next without hesitation.

But as he once again clashed with Luffy in sparring, he was struck by how different the boy was from him. While his strikes were well practiced and thought out, Luffy's were unpredictable and blunt. He fought with his fists rather than a weapon, and threw punches at random. Coupled with his strength, speed, and confident grin, it was enough to catch most enemies off guard. But despite how effective it was, it was still very… different. It made the idea of "training" very difficult for Brook, since all he could really do was spar with him and help his student get stronger, rather than give him advice as he would if he were more familiar with the style.

Luffy didn't mind the informal type of training at all. He much preferred throwing his fist as hard as he could to practicing stances and techniques. True, Brook looked cool while going through all of his moves, but when it came down to it, they were boring to actually _do_.

Both were breathing hard when they finally called the spar off, the slowly warming air of mid spring tangible against their sweaty skin. Despite this, Luffy's eyes were still bright and energetic, although Brook stumbled to sit on a nearby lawn chair, sheathing his sword and wiping perspiration from his forehead. "I'm getting too old for this, Luffy-san…" he gasped out humorously.

The boy laughed, bouncing over to him and grabbing a water bottle from the small table beside the chair, downing half of it in one gulp. "You're pretty good for an old man," he joked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Brook let out a breathy version of his signature chuckle, retrieving his own water bottle from the table.

As soon as Luffy's bottle was drained, all of his liveliness seemed to evaporate, his shoulder slumping and his eyes closing to tired slits. He stumbled dramatically, looking as though he were about to collapse. "Eeeeh, hungry," he whined in a loud but wavering voice.

Brook looked unconcerned by Luffy's actions, merely smiling and saying, "Let's go in and see what Rouge has made up for snack, hm?"

Luffy immediately perked up, the smile back on his face as though it had never left. "Food!" he cheered, and rushed inside before Brook had even risen off the chair.

Brook laughed to himself. It was the same thing every day with Luffy, and he wouldn't have it any other way. The never ending enthusiasm, the bottomless stomach, and the laugh that rang out even in the most serious of situations were all part of his beloved charm.

But as he got up, stretching his fatigued muscles a bit before following the boy inside, his smile faded a little. After all, by the end of the week, that all would change.

He could only pray that he would see Luffy again after that.

* * *

The day before Luffy's thirteenth birthday, Rouge woke up early. She slid quietly from her bedroom and padded down the stairs, being careful not to wake her sleeping adopted son. Of course, it was debatable whether she could wake him if she tried: the boy seemed to be capable of sleeping through the end of the world.

Unless he could smell food. Then he was awake in an instant.

She began her usual morning routine by opening the front door, looking down at the bundle of flowers on her doorstep. This was a constant: these days, the King would always send a messenger to place flowers in front of her house, probably before the sun had even begun to rise. She sighed, scooping them up and glancing at the attached note.

 _To my beautiful Rouge: If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put the letters "U" and "I" together._

Rouge smiled a little as she crumpled the parchment into a ball and tossed it out the door. If the King thought that he could win her favor with horribly unoriginal pickup lines that she suspected were written by another's hand, he was sorely mistaken. She wished that he might walk by some day and discover the accumulation of discarded notes, but since he never actually bothered to exit the castle, that was unlikely.

Despite her scorn for the person who had gifted her, she lifted the flowers to her nose and sniffed. The smell flooded her nose, pleasure registering in her brain as she exhaled the sweetly scented air. Closing the front door, she made her way into the kitchen, flowers grasped her hand. On the table sat a glass vase, the flowers currently filling it beginning to wilt. Pulling the old plants from the container, she replaced them with the new ones, smiling. She wasn't about to let pretty flowers go to waste, even if she detested the sender.

After disposing of the old flowers, she set about making breakfast. She knew that Luffy would have to leave extra early the following morning, so she had decided that she would serve him his birthday breakfast the day before. The meal consisted of syrup drenched pancakes and, perhaps more importantly, plates heaped with sausages and bacon.

The scent of cooking meat was enough to rouse Luffy from his sleep. He soon appeared at the kitchen table, all bright smiles and loud laughter, shoveling food into his mouth and mumbling his gratitude around half chewed mush. His good mood was contagious, and Rouge couldn't help but giggle along with him, teasing and defending her own, substantially smaller plate of food, which Luffy was already eyeing hungrily.

But as soon as she turned away to begin cleaning the dishes that they'd used, dread returned to her with such force that she almost stumbled. Despite Luffy knowing what was coming the following day, he seemed confident and optimistic, or at least had no intention of dwelling on it. Rouge, on the other hand, was neither as naive nor as strong as he was. She couldn't see any silver lining on this cloud. Luffy would die, and she will have lost everything.

"Rouge." She started at the sound of Luffy's voice, tone abnormally sober. Turning, she saw him studying her speculatively, his eyes slightly narrowed.

She fixed a reassuring smile on her face. "Yes, Luffy?"

He stared at her for a second longer, then his lips once again formed a grin - but it was softer than the ones he usually used. Comforting. "This isn't the last day. I can beat this, and I will. There's no way I can lose."

Rouge stood frozen for a moment, her smile wobbling. When she couldn't hold them back anymore, tears began to stream down her face, and she bit her lip to keep from sobbing aloud. Luffy didn't react to the crying - instead, he just continued to sit, his eyes warm and his smile soothing. "I won't lose," he reiterated. "Don't worry about me."

It took another minute for Rouge to get the tears under control. She scrubbed at her eyes, wetness soaking her long sleeves, then finally managed a smile, albeit a watery one. "Of course, Luffy," she told her adopted son, her voice quavering but still firm. "I believe in you."

His grin grew, and he laughed, once again carefree and lighthearted. "Yeah, don't worry about the small stuff, Rouge! Let's have fun today." He stood. "Are Robin and Brook coming over?"

Rouge nodded. "Yes. But they said you don't have to work if you don't want to."

"Great!" he cheered, then raced upstairs. Rouge watched him go, her eyes stinging once again. However, she shook her head, blinking the tears away resolutely.

Pessimistic as she may be, there was a chance that Luffy _could_ survive. And if he did, then everything would be worth it. She had to believe in him.

* * *

On his fourteenth birthday, Luffy didn't protest or complain when Rouge shook him awake before the sun had risen. He was uncharacteristically serious - even he could sense the foreboding, melancholic atmosphere.

Robin and Brook had come to see him off. As much as he wished that they weren't so worried about him, he was glad he got to see them again. He was confident that he wouldn't be dying anytime in the next year, but he'd still be going for quite a while without seeing his old friends and teachers.

They exchanged goodbyes before exiting the house. Robin hugged him, running a hand through his black hair and whispering "Good luck" into his ear. When she pulled away, her face was somber and melancholic, although her eyes were thankfully only a little moist.

Brook, on the other hand, didn't bother suppressing his tears. He launched himself at Luffy, wrapping his thin arms around the boy's slender body and bawling out encouragements and farewells. Luffy couldn't help but smile a little, gently patting Brook's shoulder and reassuring him that there was no way he was going to lose.

Rouge was last. Without any hesitation, Luffy hugged her, muttering into her shoulder, "Thanks for everything." She didn't speak, just nodded and smiled and let the tears stream down her face as she returned his embrace.

When he pulled away, he gave them all a huge grin. "I'll be back before you know it!" he told them assuredly.

He walked out the door alone, leaving them to watch from the house. His lifted a hand in a wave, but that was the last acknowledgement he gave them. He did not turn back.

Waiting for him on the street was a bulky contraption, purring and rumbling as it belched steam from silvery pipes. Luffy had never seen a steam car before - the only reason he was aware of them at all was because of what Robin had told him, and even then he had forgotten most of what she had said. Although the vehicles were quite popular on some countries and islands, no one except the king owned any in Luffy's kingdom.

He approached it hesitantly, gawking at the unfamiliar technology. With a creak, a door opened on the vehicle's side, and a person climbed out. "Portgas Luffy?" he asked gruffly.

Luffy paused in his admiration of the steam car, glancing at the man. "Yeah, that's me."

With a curt nod, the man unlatched another door, swinging it open. "Please step inside here."

"You're going to be taking me to the Coliseum?" Luffy asked conversationally, following the man's order and practically flinging himself inside the car. Once seated, he immediately began poking at the plush chairs and hard walls of the contraption. "Awesome..."

"Yes," the man answered, also slipping back inside the car. His seat was in front of Luffy's, so his back shielded what he was doing from Luffy's view, but suddenly the car coughed and jolted, then lurched into a smooth, steady forward motion.

The technology kept Luffy occupied for a couple of minutes, but when it became apparent that the car did little more than move and turn at the driver's command, his attention drifted quickly. He leaned forward, poking the driver's shoulder. "Hey, what's the Coliseum like?"

The man made no visible sign that he had heard Luffy, but as the boy continued to pester, prodding and calling to him, he eventually relented. "I have not been in the Coliseum. It is only my job to bring people to the front."

"Oh." Luffy sounded disappointed. "So you can't tell me anything?"

"Only that you'll be very lucky if you survive."

"Yeah, but anyone could tell me that," he pouted.

"Hmm." The man shrugged slightly, eyes fixed indifferently on the road. Luffy didn't bothering pressing more, laying his head against the side of the steam car and sulking in silence.

By the time the car rumbled to a stop, Luffy was already fast asleep, snoring loudly. The man frowned, getting out of the car and opening Luffy's door, shaking the boy awake.

When Luffy clamored out of the car, rubbing at his eyes and yawning, he froze when he caught sight of the structure in front of him. The Coliseum was huge, perhaps an even larger building than the kingdom's castles. It was built in a traditional circle, its cement wall rising from the ground and looming high over the teenager. Small shapes of light scattered across the sides marked windows.

Many would have quailed beneath the intimidating form of the infamous Coliseum. Its monstrous size seemed to remind everyone of the reputation it held- less than a third of the people who entered that structure came out alive.

Luffy's eyes were huge as he studied the Coliseum's form. His heart beat a little faster, and his fingers twitched. The driver watched the boy warily - more often than not, children tried to bolt at the sight of the Coliseum.

But instead, Luffy grinned, laughing excitedly. "This looks _awesome!_ "

The driver paused in surprise. It wasn't _impossible_ for a kid to be excited by the prospect of the Coliseum, but incredibly rare. Enough to stun him into silence until the child asked, "Is that the door?"

He was pointing to a pair of large, metal doors, heavily bolted shut. Four guards stood at attention in front, their hands gripping weapons.

"Ah, yes," the driver confirmed, giving the boy a quick nod. "Shall I escort you to the doors?"

"Nah. Thanks for the ride, old man!" Luffy giggled, and then he was off like a bullet, sprinting towards the door. The driver jolted, his reflexes kicking in as the child began to run, but he relaxed when he fully registered Luffy wasn't trying to escape. He watched as the black haired boy darted up to the guards, bouncing a little as he asked them something. They looked dumbfounded, but stepped away from the doors, which began to open.

As Luffy walked confidently inside, the driver shook his head, sighing. "Kids these days," he murmured to himself, sliding back into his steam car and letting the door click shut, echoed by the resounding boom of the Coliseum gates locking back into place.

* * *

 **Let me guess: this chapter didn't answer _any_ of the questions from Chapter One, and only proceeded to raise questions of its own, right? XD**

 **Thank you to _everyone_ who read the previous chapter, and a super special thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed! The reviews were all really, really great, including questions that the reviewers had and information on what the reviewers liked so far. That is all incredibly valuable information! Obviously, I couldn't answer many (if any) of the questions that they asked about the story. But knowing the questions readers have about my story informs me about what they're most interested in, what I still need to clarify, and things that I might have forgotten. So basically... ask away!**

 **To my lovely Guest reviewer:** I'm glad you like my writing style! I know I tend to write things with a slow build, with a lot of mystery and probably confusion at the beginning. I'm glad it sounds alright despite all of that :3 thank you for reading, and I hope the story will continue you entertain you as it unfolds!

 **I bet you all already know this, but if you've got anything you wanna say to me - how this chapter was, what you're confused about, what you look forward to, what type of shoes you're wearing, are you wearing shoes? Because I'm not right now... Then leave me a review!**

 **Until next time!  
**

 **~Whisperwing~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: One Piece does not belong to me.**

* * *

To Luffy, the people at the Coliseum seemed nice enough - he didn't know what everyone had been so worried about. Well, he _did_ know - the Coliseum was full of much deadlier, much more experienced fighters than he'd ever laid eyes on, and they would rip him to shreds without thought. He had yet to meet any of said deadly fighters, though.

But he'd heard all sorts of stories about the guards and other staff in the building. That they randomly attacked the people in the Coliseum to keep them on edge. That they fed the contenders dog droppings instead of real food. That they would go and capture children off the street if a parent left a kid unattended.

However, to Luffy, the guards didn't seem like kidnappers or monsters. They were just a little dim, he decided. They kept glancing at him, then at each other, and then back at him, as though they were perpetually confused. There were always long pauses before any of them answered his questions. They'd ask him things, too, like "You're just a kid, right?" "Aren't you scared?" "Why are you laughing?"

Of course he was a kid. No, why would he be scared? He laughed because it was exciting! This was what he had been waiting for all of his life! Weren't those answers obvious?

Thus, the guards were clearly a little slow in the head. Luffy didn't mind, though. He didn't judge people.

The only part that annoyed him about the guards was that he wanted to eat _before_ he saw his room, while they insisted that his roommate would show him to the cafeteria later on. Clearly they didn't realize that he hadn't had breakfast yet. His stomach felt near implosion. But they were firm, and so he suffered starvation in silence.

His room was one of many in a long hall of doors. The two guards that were accompanying him halted in front of one, labeled 703. One of them knocked briskly on the door, then opened it without waiting for a response.

The door swung open on a fairly small room, with blank walls and a floor covered in rough carpeting. There were two rickety wooden beds, covered in off-white linens, and at the end of each bed was a large chest. Other than the single, flickering light on the ceiling, there was no other furniture.

A boy sat crosslegged on one of the beds, his hands hanging in his lap where his fingers were clutching at some small object. His back was ramrod straight and his eyes were blown wide with surprise, and he stared fearfully at the guards.

The guards awkwardly propelled Luffy inside, muttering something about getting acquainted, and shut the door as they left.

Silence ensued. The boy on the bed continued to openly gape at Luffy, while Luffy met his gaze with a calmer, confused stare. Then, once Luffy had gotten bored of the staring contest, he let his eyes slip down to rest on the chests at the foot of the beds. "Were we supposed to bring stuff? 'Cause I don't have anything to put in there."

"Huh?" The boy on the bed started a little, as if he was surprised that Luffy was capable of speech. "U-uh, I don't think so... I only brought a few things. But they give you armor and weapons and clothes and stuff, so it's not like you need any of that…"

"Armor?" Luffy's eyes brightened. "Do they have, like, a cape? Or a helmet? With big horns! And spikes?"

The boy looked a bit dumbfounded, but managed a nervous grin at Luffy's enthusiasm. "Well, yeah, they have all sorts of stuff. There was this big sword, and no one could lift it - until I came, anyways."

"You mean, you could lift it when no one else could?" Luffy's tone was stunned, with a note of hesitant reverence.

"Yeah!" The boy drew himself up, proudly puffing out his chest. "When I came in, they were all taking turns trying to pick it up, but no one could." He pushed himself off the bed, dramatically stooping and motioning as though he were grabbing onto an imaginary object on the ground. "But I just walked by and scooped it right up, no problem!" He hefted the imaginary sword onto his shoulder. "And everyone was so amazed that they started calling me 'Usopp the Great'!"

"Wow, that is so cool!" Eyes sparkling, Luffy clapped his hands together in childish glee. He glances at the chests. "Do you keep the sword in there?"

The boy deflated a little, although he somewhat shakily maintained his smile. "Ah... Well..." He straightened, his expression gaining confidence. "I do not need such a special sword to beat the weaklings we fight here! Instead, I prefer simple weapons. But don't let it fool you." He wagged his finger. "I'm the best fighter here. I could take you out before you could even blink!"

This announcement incited a completely different reaction from Luffy's previous awe. Although the excitement still remained, something in his expression solidified, and his mouth formed a smile - not one of his usual wide grin of boundless enthusiasm, but one of hard determination and challenge. "Really?"

The boy faltered a little. "Y-yeah, of course!"

"Then I just have to beat you to get to the top!" Luffy laughed, moving to the other bed and throwing himself onto it. "This's gonna be great."

"Great. Yeah. Exactly." The bravado had vanished from the boy's tone. He sat down on his own bed, suddenly looking far less sure of himself. "Um... Hey, what your name?"

"Luffy. Portgas Luffy."

"Luffy, huh? Well... I'm Usopp! The Great," he added hastily. "But since you're gonna be my roommate, I suppose the whole title's a bit of a mouthful, so you can just call me Usopp."

"Alright." There was silence for a moment, then Luffy glanced over a Usopp, who was fidgeting uncomfortably. "Hey, can you show me the cafeteria? I asked the guard to do it, but they said you would." He grasped at the cloth of his shirt over his stomach, adopting a pained look. "I'm _starving_."

"Uh... yeah! I'm pretty hungry myself," Usopp admitted, hopping back to his feet. "Let's go."

* * *

Unfortunately, the time that they arrived at the cafeteria seemed to be the time that everyone _else_ decided they wanted breakfast as well. The lines extended to ridiculous length, extruding away from the counter separating the kitchen from the eating space. Guard stations at various points along the line kept the pushing and the cutting to a minimum.

Usopp sighed, turning towards the back of the line. "What rotten luck - this is going to take _forever_. I usually go later than this, when all the crazy lines are gone... Well, come on, we'd better get in there before it gets any longer."

There was no acknowledgement, and Usopp turned to see Luffy hurrying towards the front of the line. His smile was wide with anticipation, and his eyes, focused on where food was being passed from the kitchen to the cafeteria, completely disregarded the rest of the people patiently - or not so patiently - waiting their turns.

"Luffy!" Usopp darted after the other boy, grabbing his arm. "Are you an idiot? Do you _want_ to get in trouble? Or worse, get beaten up by someone?"

Luffy stopped to look back at him, shaking his hand off. "I could take them."

"Are you kidding me? Some of those guys would beat us to a pulp!"

"But I thought you were the strongest person here?"

"Well-" Usopp seemed to choke on his words. "Well- I mean- of course! That's what I said, right? But... let's just keep the fighting for the arena, alright?"

"But the food..."

"Will still be here," he insisted. "Come on, let's go wait." He was thankful to hear Luffy's reluctant footsteps behind him as he started towards the end of the line.

* * *

Luffy almost didn't make it to a table before beginning to devour his meal. He stuffed food into his mouth without abandon, not caring about the crumbs that ended up smeared around his lips and up his cheeks. Usopp watched with a mixture of awe and disgust.

As Luffy's meal vanished at an astonishing rate, Usopp suddenly noticed that the pile of food on his own plate was starting to slowly shrink, although he had been entranced by Luffy's eating and had barely eaten a bite. He snatched the plate off the table as he caught one of Luffy's hands wandering towards it. "Hey! Don't steal from me!"

Luffy let out a muffled sound that may have been an apology, stuffing the last of his food into his mouth. He stood, picking up his plate.

"You put the plates over there to be washed," Usopp offered helpfully, pointing to a desk in the corner of the cafeteria where plates were already accumulating. But Luffy ignored the advice, heading in a different direction. "Hey, where are you-"

"Seconds," Luffy managed to slur past his still full mouth. He made his way to the back of the line again.

When he returned, Usopp had already finished most of his own meal. "You must be _really_ hungry," he noted with a little chuckle as Luffy dug into his second helping with the same amount of zeal as his first.

But Usopp quickly began to doubt that what Luffy had was just a simple case of hunger. After finishing his second plate, he went back for a third, and then a fourth. He had no clue where in Luffy's body he could be storing all this food - the boy was skinny as a stick.

By the time his fourth serving was completed, the cafeteria had emptied out a bit, the line shrunken to just a few. A few groups lingered at their tables after their meals were finished, but most fighters at the Coliseum ate and cleared out as fast as they could, returning to their rooms or to the training grounds.

Usopp was boredly rolling a crumb around on the table when he heard Luffy ask, "Who's he?"

"Who?" Usopp looked up, following Luffy's gaze to a person who had just entered the room. It was a tall boy, with vibrantly green hair and tanned skin. His shirt stretched tight across his chest, showing off well toned muscles, and three swords were sheathed at his left hip. He walked with a certain swagger, but it seemed almost unintentional. It was clear that he was confident, focused, and probably very, very strong.

Usopp recognized him instantly. "Ah!" He lunged forward, pushing Luffy's head to face down at the table. "Stop staring! Don't get his attention!"

"Huh?" Luffy shook Usopp off, returning his eyes to Zoro. "Why not?"

"That's... that's..." Usopp lowered his voice. " _Roronoa Zoro._ If he thinks you're challenging him at all, he'll cut you to shreds!"

"Eh? Really? He doesn't look all that dangerous to me."

"You haven't seen him yet," Usopp hissed. "He's like a demon. No mercy whatsoever. And no one has ever stood a chance against him! _Don't give him a reason to fight you._ "

There was a glint in Luffy's eyes that told Usopp that he was on the verge of standing up and challenging Zoro to a battle or something, and Usopp stiffened, ready to pull the boy back down if he needed to. But Luffy finally released his tension with a little sigh, moodily resting his cheek on his hand. "But he looks like he'd be fun to fight. Why does he have three swords?"

Usopp let out a sigh of relief, glad that he didn't have to hold back his new roommate from doing something stupid. "I heard a rumor that he uses _Santoryuu_ \- three sword style. But I don't know anyone who's actually seen him do it. He only uses one or two swords on his opponents, depending on how good they are." He snorted. "Anyways, how could someone actually use three swords at the same time? I don't believe it. I bet he just has an extra sword in case one of his others breaks."

"Eh...? I wanna see him use all three..."

"I just told you, no one's ever seen that! It's probably a myth."

"But it would be so cool..."

As he walked across the cafeteria, Zoro felt his nose itch, twitching as though he was about to sneeze. He batted a hand across his face, swiping away the annoying feeling.

Someone was probably talking about him somewhere...

* * *

Luffy was ready to jump right into beating up opponents. This was what he had been waiting for, training for, almost his entire life. He wanted to get straight to the fighting, so he could finally prove himself, and so that Rouge, Robin, and Brook could stop worrying about him.

But apparently, "that's not how things work," as Usopp informed him. The fights were organized by the Coliseum, planned out days in advance. A note would be delivered to a fighter, informing them when and who they were battling. Outside of these planned events, fighting was outlawed among participants besides carefully monitored sparring matches.

After Usopp explained all this, Luffy felt cold dread beginning to pool in his stomach. Suddenly, he realized why the Coliseum was so dangerous.

He was going to die.

Of _boredom._

He stifled his trepidation, though, figuring there must be _something_ to do. There were so many people at the Coliseum, they must have found some way to pass the time.

His first day at the Coliseum was spent touring, with Usopp as his guide. The first place they arrived at after leaving the cafeteria was the armory. The room was huge with a domed ceiling, walls decked with armor and weapons of every sort. Luffy released a sound of appreciative awe, his eyes sparkling as he ran to inspect the contents of the room up close.

Usopp also walked around a bit, grabbing his favorite objects and slipping the armored pieces on. "Look!" He turned back to Luffy, dropping a horned helmet onto his head and striking a pose. The helmet, a little too big, slipped down to obscure his vision. "I look like a giant, don't I? My mom told me that all giants wore helmets like this!"

There was no response besides a slight rattling. Usopp frowned, lifting the helmet away from his eyes to realize that Luffy had disappeared, in his place being a large pile of mismatched armor. "Luffy!?"

The pile shifted and clanked, an eye appearing in the crack of a helmet's visor. "I wanna wear this to my first battle!" Luffy called, his voice slightly muffled.

Usopp huffed in exasperation. "You can't do that, you can barely even move in all that stuff."

"I can move!" A piece of the pile shifted forward, presumably where Luffy's foot was. Then the whole heap pitched to the side, armor spilling out onto the floor. Luffy's yelp was covered by a painfully loud clattering that made Usopp instinctively stuff his hand up under his helmet, protecting his ears for the noise.

As the armor settled again and the noise died down, allowing Luffy's pained groans to be heard, Usopp brought his hands down the rest on his hips. "See? You can't walk without falling over."

"Shut up," Luffy whined, beginning to extract himself from the armor.

"Oi, kids!" Both boys jumped and turned to see a bulky man glaring at them from the other side of the room. "If you're just going to make noise, then get out!"

Luffy clamored to his feet, his eyes narrowing. "I'm not a kid, I'm thirteen!"

"You're a lousy little brat who's gonna die as soon as he sets foot in the area," the man said scathingly. "Or before, if you don't stop pissing off your elders."

Luffy's fists clenched. "I bet I could beat you without even trying, _old man_ -"

Usopp grabbed him by the arm, quickly bowing in the seething man's direction. "We're sorry for bothering you! Bye!" And with that, he dragged Luffy out of the armory, the other boy struggling the whole way.

Luffy shook him off once they had left the room, a pout shaping his face. "Why did you do that?"

"You were going to start a fight with the guy! He was at least ten times larger than you."

"He wasn't _that_ big. I bet I could have beaten him."

Usopp was starting to see a theme. "Am I going to have to drag you away from fights _all the time?_ Look, we're not allowed to fight outside of battles!"

"So?"

"So- so..." Usopp paused, trying to think of something to say that might make Luffy see sense, but nothing came to mind. "Whatever! Just try to calm down a bit, alright? I'm not going to stop you next time!"

"Good." Luffy grinned. "Where are we going next?"

Usopp sighed. It was certainly going to be difficult - and potentially life threatening - to be around this guy.

* * *

There were only three other places of interest that Usopp could lead him to. The first was the library, fairly near the armory. It was small, quiet, and mostly empty, a couple fighters reading or browsing the shelves under the watchful eyes of the librarians. Luffy seemed underwhelmed by the room, and Usopp quickly tried to catch his interest with some of the books.

"This one's really awesome!" He flipped through a large volume, grinning at Luffy. "It talk all about aircrafts and stuff. Like cars - but they fly! They have them on some other islands."

Luffy leaned forward to stare at a word filled page. "Where's the pictures?"

"W-well..." Usopp started turning pages. "I think there are a couple diagrams around here..."

"What's the point of books without pictures? Reading is boring," Luffy told him. Usopp didn't really agree, but he didn't try interesting Luffy with any more books.

The next location was a large balcony overlooking the Coliseum's arena. Luffy laughed excited, running to the railing and leaning over in a way that made Usopp afraid he might fall. "Wow! Is this where we fight?"

The arena was shaped in a large circle, surrounded by a ring of water. Surrounding the arena on all sides were rows of seats, ascending like stairs away from the Coliseum's center. The space was empty besides a few maintenance workers cleaning the seats.

"Yeah!" Usopp followed Luffy to the edge, pointing to the ring of water. "And if you fall in there, you get disqualified. And worse..." he shuddered. "I heard there's monster fish in there. Never seen one, but..."

Luffy pursed his lips. "Maybe I should have learned how to swim." Then he laughed. "But it's not like I'd get knocked off the edge, anyways!"

Their tour ended in the training room. The space was huge, packed with people hefting weights and swinging swords. The scent of sweat was rich in the air, and tired grunts and growls chorused from every corner of the room.

"Watch this." Usopp pulled Luffy to a red and white target set on the wall, pulling a small wooden slingshot from his pocket. He put a fair amount of distance between himself in the target, placing a small rock in the sling of his weapon, and aiming carefully.

The string made a satisfying snapping sound by his ear as his let his projectile fly. Luffy immediately went to inspect the target, laughing and clapping when he noticed a large dent on the bullseye.

Usopp smirked proudly. "That's right! Usopp the Great has to best aim in the world!"

The rest of the time before lunch was spent playing with discarded swords, punching dummies, and Usopp showing off.

* * *

"Hey, Usopp, why's your nose so long?"

Three days had passed since the first. Luffy had spent it training, mostly, and eating, and sleeping. He and Usopp had gone to watch a few battles when they occurred. But the monotony was already beginning to wear on him.

Usopp looked up from his sketchpad. He had been absently drawing, seated on the floor by the wall of the training room, as Luffy showed off his flexibility in an array of stretches. Now Luffy was crouched in front of him, staring at his friend's nose.

There were many types of people in the world, of all different shapes and sizes. Sometimes their hair was naturally a strange color, or they were abnormally tall, or their arms had two elbows instead of one. But even in such a diverse world, Usopp's nose was rather unique.

Usopp's appearance, in general, could be called average. He was skinny, his skin naturally tan, with wildly curly black hair kept under a green bandana. But the tip of his nose extended at least five inches from his face, straight and rounded.

He blushed a little, rubbing at his nose self consciously. "I got it from my mom. She had a long nose too."

"Really? Alright then." Luffy flopped backward, letting out a long sigh. "Ehhh, I'm so bored..."

"Wanna go to the library? We could find a book to read-"

"I told you, reading's even more boring than this!" A flash of green caught Luffy's eye, and he rolled over to stare of the color. "Hey, it's that guy!"

"What guy?" Usopp followed Luffy's gaze to a muscular, green haired boy. "Oh, Zoro."

The boy was sitting crosslegged against a wall, one hand in his lap while the other hefted a weight more than half his size. His eyes were closed, his brows knit together a bit as he concentrated.

Luffy sat up. "Let's go talk to him."

"Are you crazy? Do you _remember_ what I told you about him?" Usopp reprimanded. "That guy's a demon! Stay away from him if you value your life."

"But Usopp, there's nothing better to do..." Luffy whined.

"Well, then... give me fifty pushups!"

"Eh?"

"If you've got nothing better to do, do fifty pushups."

"But I've already done like a hundred."

"Too bad! Get to it."

Usopp felt a small twinge of pride when Luffy reluctantly began his pushups. Perhaps, one day when Luffy was a little smarter, he'd thank Usopp for saving his life so many times.

* * *

That night, Luffy got his note.

Luffy was ecstatic. This was what he had been waiting for - a real fight, a chance to finally use the skills he'd worked so hard on. The fight was set for the day after the next, and he couldn't wait.

Usopp was not half as excited. In fact, the emotion he was feeling was something akin to dread. It had only been four days, but he'd already grown rather attached to his new roommate - although he didn't recognize the name and he doubted they would set Luffy up against anyone too difficult on his first fight, they would continue to get harder. Until eventually...

...he was beaten. Possibly killed in battle, possibly purged. Usopp was a pessimist - he knew how things like this played out.

Luffy would be gone in a year at the most.

"Hey, Usopp." Usopp shook his head clear of his dark thoughts, looking up to meet Luffy's eye. "When's _your_ next fight?"

"Oh." Usopp thought. "About a week from now, I think."

"Really? Who are you fighting?"

"Eh? A lot of people, it's a group battle." He blinked. "Just so you know, I'm not like you."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not a Noid."

Luffy's eyebrows furrowed at the unfamiliar term. "What's a Noid? Can you eat it? Sounds tasty."

Usopp snorted. "A _Noid_. That's what you are, right? It means 'no I.D.' Because you were found without any identification or anything to say you were supposed to be in this country, right?"

Luffy thought for a second. "Yeah, I guess that's what I am."

"Well, I'm not a Noid."

"Then why are you here?" Luffy sprawled on his bed, propping his face in his hands to stare curiously at Usopp.

"'Cause of my father." Usopp's lips formed a wistful smile. "He's here too, although I don't see him much. He was a pirate, but he got arrested. But he managed to talk them into letting him work here as a resident fighter. Since I don't have anywhere else to go, I'm here too. I do some of the group battles and stuff."

"A pirate, huh?" Luffy grinned. "Pirates are really cool."

"They are, aren't they?"

* * *

It was the day before Luffy's fight when disaster struck.

Usopp had once again been sketching while Luffy practiced in the training room. There was nothing better to do, really. But his pencil's had dulled to a broad, rounded nub, and he had no sharpener or back up pencil with him.

"Oi, Luffy!" he called to his friend, who was busy bashing in a dummy's head. "I'm going back to our room to get a pencil sharpener for a minute." There was no acknowledgement, and he sighed. "Whatever. I'll be back before you know it."

It was during the time that Usopp was gone that Luffy broke the dummy's nose – along with the rest of its face. Sand poured out through the fabric that had held its head together, and Luffy jumped away.

"Woah - didn't expect that to happen." He brushed the sand off his hands, watching as some of the soldiers stationed around the room ran to begin cleaning up the mess. "Usopp, did you see that? Pretty cool, huh? Usopp?" He turned, finally realizing that his friend was no longer sitting against the wall. "Hey, where'd you go?"

A brief glance around the room was enough to confirm that Usopp had disappeared. Luffy frowned, feeling boredom begin to creep up on him again. He didn't really feel like going back to training, and with Usopp missing, there was no one else to entertain him.

Not for the first time, Luffy's eye caught on a tuft of grass green hair. He stared in Zoro's direction, silently debating. Usopp had been very insistent that he shouldn't approach Zoro for any reason, but Usopp wasn't there anymore, and Zoro looked like the most interesting thing in the room.

Zoro raised his head, his gaze meeting Luffy's. The green haired boy scowled at his watcher, then focused back on the weight he was lifting.

The brief meeting of eyes was enough to make Luffy's decision. He marched over to Zoro, who didn't acknowledge his approach at all. He crouched besides the green haired boy, staring intently.

The weight rose and fell six more times before Luffy got bored of waiting for Zoro to say something to him. He poked at the other boy's cheek. "Neh, neh, Zoro, right?"

Zoro huffed a little, but didn't look at him.

"Hey, Zoro, can you hear me? Are you deaf? Hello, Zoro?"

The weight paused at the bottom of its revolution. "Piss off, kid."

"Hey, why is your hair green? Is it really green? Did you dye it?"

Zoro snorted. "Yes, it's really green. Now, piss off, I said."

"Why does Usopp call you a demon?"

"I don't know. Get lost."

"Do you really use three swords?"

Zoro finally turned to look at him, his glare harsh enough to scare even the bravest of men. "Do you _know_ what piss off means?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm bored," Luffy complained, barely even registering Zoro's angry expression. "Usopp disappeared, and I don't feel like punching dummies anymore. Usopp says you're really scary and strong..." He cocked his head to the side. "I'd really like to fight you, but Usopp told me not to fight outside of the arena."

Zoro's scowl persisted for a couple seconds longer, then he sighed, resigning himself to Luffy's company. "Usopp's that long nosed kid, right?"

"Yep! His nose is really long, isn't it?"

"Why the hell do you listen to him for everything? He's a moron and a liar."

"He is pretty stupid, isn't he?" Luffy nodded speculatively. "But I didn't know he was a liar. What does he lie about?"

"You haven't noticed? _Everything._ You can barely believe a thing that come out of that brat's mouth," Zoro snorted contemptuously. "If he had his way, he'd have everyone believing he was the strongest person in the Coliseum."

Luffy gaped at him. "You mean he's _not?_ "

"You didn't even _realize?"_ Zoro smacked his forehead, letting out a sigh. "Nevermind, I get why you stick with him. You idiots are made for each other."

Luffy furrowed his eyebrows at the green haired boy, but decided not to protest. Instead, he suddenly flopped across Zoro's lap, inducing a startled yelp from the other boy. "Zoro... I wanna fight someone, but I can't until tomorrow... I'm so bored..."

"What the hell! Get off me!" Zoro shoved Luffy off his lap, an angry flush spreading across his face. "Why should I care if you're bored or not!"

"But Zoroooo, I don't know what to do..."

It was at this time that Usopp reentered the room, newly sharpened pencil in hand. Catching sight of the busted dummy, he glanced around the room for his friend, ice suddenly filling his stomach as he caught sight of the pair struggling on the floor. Luffy was whining and clinging to Zoro's clothes, while the other boy continued to try to push him away, spitting curses.

 _This is exactly what I was afraid of!_ Usopp thought, standing frozen in the middle of the training room. _He's going to be killed! What should I do? What_ can _I do?_ He briefly considered marching over and pulling Luffy away, but dismissed the idea with a terrified shake of his head. _I'd be killed too! But what else can I do..._

Zoro paused his wrestling, his eye catching on Usopp. Luffy also calmed, staring questioningly at him. "Oi, isn't that your friend?"

Luffy followed his gaze to Usopp. "Oh! Hey, Usopp!"

But Usopp had already turned tail and fled. _I'm sorry, Luffy! I'm not brave enough to save you!_

A half hour later, Luffy returned to his room, where he found Usopp. He couldn't quite figure out why Usopp looked at him as though he were a ghost, but Usopp was weird, so he didn't really give it much thought.

* * *

 **In case I haven't made it obvious, I really love the interactions between Luffy and Usopp. And Luffy and Zoro. In fact, I just love Luffy with all of the people on his crew. Such beautiful friendship...  
**

 **Thank you to everyone who has read the past few chapters, and special thanks to all who followed, favorited, or reviewed! You guys are all wonderful.**

 **The next few chapters should further clarify the world that Luffy is in, along with having some fun with character development and relationships. I know everyone's waiting with bated breath for ASL to come into play - seriously, how many of you are here just because I have Sabo, Ace, and Luffy in my character list? There are still a few chapters before Ace or Sabo can make their debute, but I hope you're all looking forward to it.**

 **If you saw something, anything, in this chapter that you didn't like - or that you** ** _did_** **like, for that matter- feel free to review! Or I mean, if you're feeling lonely, then I'm always up for chatting. Conversation starter of the day: what are your thoughts on jewelry? I think it's very pretty, for sure, but often too expensive, and I can barely put together a semi-decent outfit every day, much less embellish it with jewelry.**

 **Until next time!**

 **~Whisperwing~**


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